Indicating obligation and willingness

Using nouns to indicate obligation

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Indicating low obligation

With low obligation, the person referred to (often the hearer) has the most choice. This can be glossed as permission.

Here is a list of nouns which are typically used to grant permission:

assent prerogative    right authorisation    acceptance consent    permit permission    warrant licence    charter concession    pass carte-blanche    visa passport    no problem approval

Timothy Dalton has surrendered his licence to kill and has quit the role of James Bond only months before filming starts on the latest 007 film.
(SCMP 12/4/94)

We shall see below that consent may constitute the difference between the sexual expression of shared love between two people and the serious offence of rape.

Introduction
Degrees of obligation
Indicating strong obligation
Indicating suggested obligation
Indicating low obligation